Once Upon a Trainwreck: The Fall and Rise of a Child Star

by Christy Carlson Romano

Christy Carlson Romano became famous before she could protect herself. In this equally raw and inspiring memoir, the former Disney Channel star reveals her toxic rise to fame, how she lost it all, and the hard-won comeback that made her stronger and more successful than ever before.

For a generation of kids, Christy Carlson Romano was their TV big sister. At her peak, she was sixteen years old and starring in two major television shows, Even Stevens and Kim Possible, and an original movie, Cadet Kelly. She was Disney’s smart, serious girl next door, a role model who had it all together. But in reality, she was anything but.

Christy was pushed into show business while still in elementary school. She wanted to be a good actor to help her family and to make her parents happy. From indie movie gigs and Broadway performances in New York to television shoots in Hollywood, Christy’s existence was dually marked by brilliance and bright-eyed success on the stage and emotional and financial strife behind the scenes. Christy faced a rollercoaster of bullying, exploitation, and the relentless pursuit of perfection both personally and professionally. And as she got older, her people-pleasing tendencies took a darker turn as she dated controlling men, started partying in to order fit in, descended into addiction, and was emotionally blackmailed into giving thousands of dollars to a manipulative psychic.

But after hitting rock bottom in an FBI office, Christy pulls her life back together, reparenting herself to become more resilient than ever.

This is more than a celebrity memoir; it’s an inspiring account of raising oneself, of finding inner strength and perseverance. Punctuated by letters from Christy to her two young daughters, Once Upon a Trainwreck is a propulsive and gripping testament to survival, self-discovery, and the pursuit of an authentic life.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Biography Memoir, Biography

272 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication October 6, 2026

About the author

Christy Carlson Romano is the voice of Kim on Kim Possible, and starred as Belle in Broadway’s Beauty and the Beast. Ms. Romano has starred in two Emmy-nominated television series. She has studied ballet at the School of American Ballet and is a graduate of The Professional Children’s School, both in New York City. Christy Carlson Romano is from Milford, Connecticut. She currently resides in California.

Reviews

[Olive Fellows (abookolive)]

For anyone who was a Disney Channel kid at the same time as I was, Christy Carlson Romano needs no introduction. We know her from Even Stevens, Kim Possible, Cadet Kelly, and more. What we might be a lot less familiar with is her personal story, which was a lot less shiny than the polished Disney image led us to believe.

Click here to hear more about this book and my other anticipated releases of the upcoming quarter over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!

[Tina]

I rarely rate books five stars, but this was so good.

I only grabbed this book because I loved the title. In full disclosure, I had zero idea who Romano was. In fact, even now, I do not remember ever watching anything she appeared in. I also normally hate memoirs that focus too much on the early years, but here, it worked very well. In fact, I thought the strongest part of the book was Romano's youth.

This is so well written, and I suspect it is a pretty accurate portrayal of celebrity and how fleeting it is.

There is no mean spirited gossip, and the author is pretty honest with the readers. The only issue is that unless you memorize the dates at the top of chapters, you will lose track of how old the author is.

But this is a terrific read.

[Tabby]

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, read by Christy Carlson Ramano herself. I loved Disney shows and movies growing up, including Even Steven’s. Hearing more and more about how these child actors and actresses were treated and what they went through makes me feel guilty for enjoying their work. I feel so bad for these kids and even though they are adults now part of me still wants to hug the child inside them and tell them it’s not their fault and things will be okay. I loved hearing her stories and of course was sad hearing a lot of them. I especially love how she ends each chapter with a note to her daughters of advice and of things about them and why she does or does not do certain things so they can live their best life in a loving and supporting household. Some of the things she experienced was truly heartbreaking and made me feel for her so much. It also makes me happy that her husband is so supportive and that she is willing to talk with her daughters about her experiences if and when they are ready. I liked that she also wrote a letter to her mom. I was surprised she talked about the shooting incident, but glad she is okay and able to comfortably discuss it. Overall a really interesting book filled with emotions on her life. I’m glad she’s now living her best life with those who truly love her.

[Courtney Keenum]

As a millennial who “grew up” with the Disney Channel stars of the early 2000s, I thoroughly enjoyed this memoir! I related so much to Christy’s people-pleasing tendencies and really appreciated the behind the scenes look at the lives I envied so much as a kid. The way she wrote little letters to her daughters between chapters made me tear up a couple of times. I thought this was brilliantly done and even sent her an Instagram DM to say so. She liked it! And I’m star struck again. Thanks to LibroFM for the bookseller ALC!

[Kelly]

My Barnes and noble for some reason had it in the shelf early so I purchased it. Very well written. A great story